Edge for mattresses or cushions



Aug. 2, 1932. J. F. GAM. 1,870,045 vEDGE FOR MTTRESSES OR CUSHIONS A Filed Deo. 24, 1926 @0G00:mow53003243136@- J external contour or a pearance sue also the effect of in-V Patented Aug. 2, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN F. GAIL, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SIMMONS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE EDGE FOR MATTRESSES OR CUSHIONS Application med December 24, 1926. Serial No. 156,901.

The invention relates td the construction of an edge strip or boxing adapted for use on cushions or mattresses in which a box effect is desired, as distinguished from an ordinary pad in which the edge ofthe mattress is permitted to bulge out into a more or less convex or semi-circle cross section.

lThe principal objects of the invention are to rovide a construction of edge strip or boxing such that when applied to a mattress or cushion, the said boxing will tend to preserve its trim vertical appearance without bulging outwardly as in the case of an ordinary unsupported edge. strip or boxing; to provide a boxing having means for resilicntly maintainin said boxing in a stretched vertical condition; to provide a boxin with an that an ornamental eiect an creased depth or hei ht is obtained; to provide a boxing which will be durable and which will maintain its shape, position, and appearance indefinitely during the life of the article to which it is applied; to provide an article of the class described which sha-ll be relatively simple in construction, economical to manufacture, neat and ornamental in ap-` pearance, rugged and inexpensive; and in general, to provide an improved construction of the class referred to.

In the drawing accompanying this application and illustrating a preferred application of my invention as applied to a mattress having a body of resilient iibrous filling ma terial such as felt, A

. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a mattress;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse or vertical section through the boxing showing the condition of same before the pockets are nally closed;

vEig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of a completed stripof boxing, and

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4 showing a somewhat modified type of construction.

Referring to the drawing, represents the finished mattress which is equipped with my improved boxing strip. The body or lilling of the mattress may be of any material or construction. In the present instance, I have shown the invent-ion as applied to a mattress having a bodyr of resilient fibrous material, for example, cotton felt 11. The said body of. cotton felt 11 has an upper layer 12 and a lower layer 13 which extend across the inner margin of the boxing as shown'in Fig. 2.

Although the invention is capable of einbodiment in various forms, the selected embodiment herein described is preferably constructed and applied as follows. y. i

The boxing itself is made up in advance and in a substantially complete condition, in strip form of an desired length, ready for application to t e body or filler portion of the mattress. As so constructed, the boxin coinprises an outer edge strip 14 of ticking abrio, an inner liner-15 of sheeting or other similar inexpensive fabric, and a series of pockets 16 secured to the sheeting 15 by lines of stitching indicated at 17, 18, 19 and 2O in Fig. 4. Each of said lines of stitching extends not only through the oclret-forming strip 21 of the construction, ut also unites together the outer tick part 14 and the inner liner strip 15.

Between the ticking 14 and the sheeting 15 there extends a la er, preferably continuous, of resilient li rous material such as felt 22, which is pinched or compressed tightly at the seam lines 17, etc. b the stitching. The felt inner layer 22 is o such thickness and the spacing of the vertical stitch seams 17, etc. which is uniform, is such that the resiliency .ofthe felt bodies filling the .interspaces 23 between the two-ply boxing strip causes said interspaces to be distended or bulge out, thereby presenting the appearance of vertical flutes. This vertical ute effect is in itself of substantial value in'preserving the verticality of the boxing when the same is applied to a mattress since each iiute 23 in effect constitutes a resilient post which tends to return to its normal vertical position when distorted. Obviously also this finte eiect gives the exterior boxing of the mattress a highly desirable and ornamental appearance. I lind that according to my practice and opinion, the best construction of this type from mechanical and ornamental standpoints, is obtained when the resulting radius of curvature of the ilutes 23,

as shown in Fig. 4, is not materially greater than a distance equal to the uniform spacing of the vertical stitch seams.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4, the pocket forming loops 24 and 25 which are right hand and left hand in character, are made of the proper length to accommodate helical coil springs as at 26, having a diameter approximately one and one-half times the flute width or seam spacing. I believe this ratio to be. substantially correct as a compromise between the feature of having the flutings sufficiently narrow to give the desired effect and the idea of having the helicals 26 of reasonably large diameter so that they will be stable and relatively few in number so as to reduce the expense of the construction.

In making up the boxing itself, in the preferred embodiment shown, the stitch seams are not extended materially below or above the bottom and top coils 27 and 28 of the helicals 26. However, the tickstrip 14, the felt strip or layer 22, the sheeting layer 15, and the pocket strip 21, are made considerably wider at the top and bottom. Vith such a construction, the box strip is first constructed by superposing in proper relation the strip 14, layer 22, strip 15, and strip 21, and the stitch seams 17, etc. are then applied by a suitable sewing machine. The springs 26 are then inserted in the pockets formed by the open ended loops 24 and 25. After the said springs 26 have been inserted and are positioned in the pockets in the position shown in Fig. 3, the margins of the loops 24 and 25 of the pocket strip are folded over the cnd coils 27 and 28 of the springs and the folded edges are then united together at substantially the axis of the spring 26 either by ying or preferably stapling as indicated at 29 in Fig. 4. After the ties or staples 29 have been applied, the small triangular openings 3() are preferably closed to prevent the filling material from enteringr the ends of the springs. This may be effected by folding back the margin of the liner strip 15 over the ends of the springs as shown in Fig. 4 and in order to maintain said folds 31 in proper position, there may be inserted or otherwise applied a tie 32 which connects the inner edge of the fold 31 to the central stapled portion of the end of the pocket. Staples may be employed to effect the tie 32 or I'may employ a substantially continuous cord 33 which, by means of a ncee die, may be hitched or tied around the fabric parts at the points mentioned.

The boxing strip made up in advance as above described, may be stored in roll form or in strips of the desired length as preferred. It is a simple matter to apply the same to a mattress body. To this end, the mattress body with the exception of the upper and lower layers 12 and 13, is hrs@ made up and then the boxing strips are placed around the entire exterior edge of the mattress and of course united together at the ends by suitable stitching. The upper and lower layers 12 and 13 and the top and bottom tick parts 34 and 35 are then placed in position or, if desired, the tick part 35 and the lower layer 13 of the mattress filling can be pla-ced before the edge stripoor boxing is applied around the edge of the dy.

After the parts have been assembled in their proper position, the hemmed edges 36 of the outer tick strip 14 of the boxing are united to the similarly hemmed edges 37 of the top and bottom ticks 34 and 35 by means of lines of stitching 38. The roll edges 39 and 40 are then formed by machine or hand stitching as at 41 and the body of the mattress is also tufted in the usual manner as indicated at 42.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, I have illustrated a construction in which the spacing of the flutes is somewhat wider than my preferred construction previously described, and in which the diameter of the springs is some what less than in the said preferred construction, so that the diameter or spacing of the springs is substantially the same as that of the flute width. This modified form of construction possesses certain advantages in that as shown in Fig. 5, the pockets need not be made right hand and left hand, but are all constructed alike. In other respects the modi fied construction is similar to that previously described.

The described details of construction and assembly are illustrative of only one manner of applying my invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the appended claims, said claims being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mattress or cushion having a boxing comprising an outer and an inner strip of fabric united together by vertical lines of stitching horizontally spaced apart, resilient filling material contained in and distending the vertical interspaces defined by said seams, a border row of springs adjacent said boxing for stretching the latter vertically and thereby preventing the boxing from bulging outwardly intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and means for retaining said springs in position, said means being secured to said boxing by said stitching.

2. A mattress or cushion having a boxing comprisingr an outer and an inner strip of fabric united together by vertical lines of stitching horizontally spaced apart, resilient filling material contained in and distending the vertical interspaces defined by said seams, a border row of axially vertical springs adjacent said boxing for stretching the latter vertically and thereby preventing the boxing from bulging outwardly intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and means for retaining said springs in position, said means being secured to said boxing by said stitching, there being two seams associated with each spring.

8. A mattress or cushion having a two-ply boxing, a row of flexible pockets, vertical rows of stitching for connecting the pockets to the boxing, an axially vertical spring in each of said pockets and a continuous layer of resilient filling material interposed between said plies and compressed at the seams formed by said stitching, said seams also serving to connect the pockets to the boxing.

4. A mattress or cushion having a boxing comprising an outer and an inner'strip of fabric, a continuous layer of resilient filling material interposed between said strips, and vertical lines of stitching connecting together said strips and horizontally spaced apart, said lines of stitching passing through the filling layer and compressing the saine at said lines of connection, a border row of springs adjacent said `boxing for stretching the latter verticall and thereby preventing the saine from bulging, and pockets for said springs, united to said inner strip by said stitching.

5. A mattress or cushion having a boxing comprising an outer and an inner strip of fabric, a continuous layer of resilient filling material interposed between said strips, and

vertical lines of stitching connecting together said strips and horizontally spaced apart, said lines of stitching passing through the filling layer and compressing the same at said lines of connection, a border row of springs connected to said boxing for stretching the latter vertically and thereby preventing the same from bulging, and a pocket for each of said springs, united to said inner strip by said stitching. v

6. A mattress or cushion having a two-ply boxing. a row of flexible pockets, vertical rows of stitching` for connecting the pockets t0 the boxing, an axially Vertical springT in each of said pockets and a continuous laver of resilient filling material interposed between said plies and compressed at the seams formed by said stitching.

7. As a new article of manufacture. a inattress boxing comprising a strip of ticking, a fabric strip forming a row of ilexible pockets adjacent said boxing strip, vertical rows of stitching for connecting the pocket forming strip to the box strip and an axially vertical spring in each pocket for supporting the said strip. i

8. As a new article of manufacture, a mattress boxing including an' edge strip, a fabric strip forming a row of iiexible pockets, vertical rows of stitching for permanently connecting the pocket forming strip to the boxing edge strip, an axially vertical spring in each pocket for supporting the boxing, and

resilient filling material interposed between the springs and the strip.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a boxing comprising an outer and an inner strip of fabric united together by spaced lines of stitching extending laterally of the strips, resilient filling material contained in and distending the intcrspaces defined by said seams, a row of springs adjacent said boxing for stretching the latter laterally and thereby preventing the boxing from bulging outwardly intermediate the edges thereof, and means for retaining said springs in position, said means being secured to said boxing by said stitching. i

lO, As a new article of manufacture, a boxing comprising an outer and an inner strip of fabric. united together by a series of laterally extending vlines of stitching spaced apart longitudinally of the strips, resilient filling material contained in and distending the interspaces defined by said seams, a row of springs adjacent said boxing for stretching the latter laterally and thereby preventing the boxing from bulging outwardly 1ntermediatc the edges thereof and pockets for said springs, the seams also serving to conn nect the pockets to the boxing.

ll. As a new article of manufacture, a boxing comprising a two-ply strip of fabric, a row of `flexible pockets, spaced parallel rows of stitching for connecting the pockets to the boxing, a helical spring in each of said pockets, its axis being parallel to the stitch lines, and a continuous layer of resilient filling material interposed between said plies and conipressed at the seams formed by said stitching, said seams also serving to connect the pockets to the boxing.

l2. ln boxing for mattresses or the like, the combination of a pair of fabric strips having a layer of padding interposed therebetween, united together to form an outer padded boxing strip, a pocket forming strip of fabric of considerably greater length than said outer boxing strip, gathered and united to said padding strip so as to form pockets therebetween. and springs in said pockets, said pocket forming strip having marginal portions folded over the ends of said pockets to partially close the same and the inner strip of said pair of strips also having a marginal part folded over the ends of said pockets to complete the closing thereof.

13. In boxing for mattresses or the like,

ico

the combination of a pair ob fabric strips having a Alayer of padding interposed therebetween, united together to form an outer padded boxing strip, a pocket forming strip of fabric of considerably greater length than said outer boxing strip, gathered and united to said padding strip so as to form-pockets therebetween, and springs in said pockets.

Dated Dec. 20, 1926.

JOHN F. GAIL. 

